{"product_id":"world-brain-9780262542562","title":"World Brain","description":"\u003cb\u003eIn 1937, H. G. Wells proposed a predigital, freely available World Encyclopedia to represent a civilization-saving World Brain.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn a series of talks and essays in 1937, H. G. Wells proselytized for what he called a World Brain, as manifested in a World Encyclopedia--a repository of scientifically established knowledge--that would spread enlightenment around the world and lead to world peace. Wells, known to readers today as the author of \u003ci\u003eThe War of the Worlds\u003c\/i\u003e and other science fiction classics, was imagining something like a predigital Wikipedia. The World Encyclopedia would provide a summary of verified reality (in about forty volumes); it would be widely available, free of copyright, and utilize the latest technology. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOf course, as Bruce Sterling points out in the foreword to this edition of Wells's work, the World Brain didn't happen; the internet did. And yet, Wells anticipated aspects of the internet, envisioning the World Brain as a technical system of networked knowledge (in Sterling's words, a hypothetical super-gadget). Wells's optimism about the power of information might strike readers today as na vely utopian, but possibly also inspirational.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=AUTH-11471737\"\u003eH. G. Wells\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e MIT Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/03\/2021\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 176\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.50lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 7.90h x 5.20w x 0.60d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780262542562\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0262542560\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBISAC Categories:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-SOC\"\u003eSocial Science\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-SOC026000\"\u003eSociology | General\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-LCO\"\u003eLiterary Collections\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-LCO010000\"\u003eEssays\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-TEC\"\u003eTechnology \u0026amp; Engineering\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-TEC056000\"\u003eHistory\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eH. G. Wells (1866-1946) was a prolific and best-selling author of novels, short stories, and social commentary. Among his best-known works are \u003ci\u003eThe Time Machine\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Invisible Man\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eWar of the Worlds\u003c\/i\u003e, and T\u003ci\u003eono-Bungay\u003c\/i\u003e. Bruce Sterling is a Hugo Award-winning science fiction author. Joseph M. Reagle Jr. is the coeditor of \u003ci\u003eWikipedia @ 20\u003c\/i\u003e and the author of \u003ci\u003eHacking Life\u003c\/i\u003e (both published by the MIT Press) and other books.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MIT Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42684411937005,"sku":"9780262542562","price":24.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/8097\/6621\/products\/img_a54a873f-4307-407a-997b-62b2508c2275.jpg?v=1649754110","url":"https:\/\/sureshotbooks.com\/products\/world-brain-9780262542562","provider":"SureShot Books Publishing LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}